Gathering machine



Jan' 31 1939 E.Ic. McFARLANE -2,l45,520

y GATHERING MACHINE i Filed March ll, 1937 17 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 31, 1939.

E. C. MCFARLANE GA THERING MACHINE Filed March 1l', 1957 17 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Jan'. 31, 1939.v E. C. M'CFARLNE 2,145,520

GATHERING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1937 17 sheets-sheet 5 17 Sheets-Sheet 4 E. C. MGFARLANE GATHERING MACHINE Filed March ll, 1957 Jan. 31, 41939.

llan. 31, 1939. E Cl MCFARLANE 2,145,520 I GATHERING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1937 17 sheets-sheet 5 E. c. MCFARLANE 2,l45,52

GATHERING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1937 Jan. 3 l, 1939.

17 Sheets-Sheet 6 ILm.. 3l, 1939.v

E. c. MGFARLANE GATHERING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1957 17 sheets-sheet '7 50 4W? Ei 9 a y 74? Q 4f-G Jan. 3l, 1939. E C, MCFARLANE GATHERING MACHINE 17 sheets-sheet s Filed March l1, 1937 www@ Jan. 3i, 1939. E c, MCFARLANE 2,M5,5@

GATHERING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1957 17 sheetsshee1 9 `yan.. 3l, 1939. E, c. MCFARLANE 2,345,520

GA'LHERINGI MACHINE Filed March l1, 195'?A 17 Sheets-Sheet 10 WKZ/627737@ EMME/HW@ 7^/2 We,

Jam 3H, w39.. E. c. MCFARLANE 2,E45,52

GA THERING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1957 1v she'etsfsheet 11 lan.. 31, 1939. E c, McFARL-ANE 2,145,203

GATHERING MAcrwE Filed March l1, 1937 17 Sheets-Sheet l2 an. M, i939. Y E. c. MCFARLANE 29345952@- GATHERING MACHINE vFiled March ll, 1937 l'7Sheets-Sheet 13 Jan. 31, 1939. E. c. MCFARLANE M5520 GATHERING MACHINE Filed March l1, 1937 17 Sheets-Sheet 14 lzverfr f I Jan. 31, 1939. E. C, MCFARLANE ML2@ l GATHERING MACHINE Filed March ll, 1957 17 Sheets-Sheet l5 E. C. MCFARLANE GATHERING MACHINE Filed March ll, 1957 1'7 Shee-sSheet 1G wm @www Jan. 31, 1939. E C; MCFARLANE. i 2,145,520

GATHERIANG MACHINE Filed MaIOh ll, 1957 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 fjo/ Patented Jan.- 3'1, 193eI UNITED sT-Ares GATHERING MACHINE Edwin C. McFarlane, Pearl River, N. Y., assigner to Martin Machinery Corporation, New York,A N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 11.1937. sci-lili No. 130,394 claims. (ci. 21o-s4) This invention relates toimprovements in gathering machines and more especially such a ma chine for gathering signatures, sheets, pages or the like, to form books. For convenience, I shall here consider the machine as operating upon signatures consisting of single fiat sheets of paper although it is obvious that it will operate equally Well upon sheets that are folded one or more times. j

Among the features o! my invention is the provision oi such a machine employing a gripper cylinder adapted to take a signature from the bottom of a pile at a. station and deliver it directly in the trough without the intervention oi any feed rolls. This simplifies the construction and operations and speeds up the action of the machine.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of two diametricaliy arranged grippers on each cylinder. Although I have shown but two grippers on each cylinder it is to be understood that there may be three or more; and they would preferably be equally spacedl about the circumference of the cylinder. By using a plurality of grippers on each cylinder, I am enabled to increase the diameter thereof and thus decrease the bending or curvature of the signature which isA handled. This construction also` promotes greater efilciency and speed of operation by utilizing practically the entire circumference of the cylinder in the handling of signatures. The speed of rotation of the cylinders is also reduced. For example, as here shown, two signatures are handled for each rotation of the cylinder.

Another feature of the invention is improved calipering or stop mechanism for quickly detecting any failure in the signature selecting mechanism and stopping operation of the machine when this occurs. This-mechanism, for exampie, is designed to operate when a. lsignature is missed at any station, or when two or more are taken at once instead of one, or even when a signature, defective because too thick or thin, is fed to the cylinder.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention I have shown in the drawings only two stations,

but it is to be understood that there may be any` desired number depending upon the number of different kinds of signatures that the machine is designed to handle.

Another feature of" the invention is the provision of calipering mechanism employing the gripper of a gripper cylinder as the actuator thereof, thus dispensing with additional gauging rollers, fingers, or the like. This simplifies the construction and promotes the accuracy of the calipering mechanism.

Other features and advantages will appear more iully as I proceed with my speciiication.

In that form o! device embodying the features of my invention shown in the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a view in rear elevation, showing a portion broken away to represent additional stations, y

Fig. 2 is a view in elevationof the end that maybe termed the front end,

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of the rear or discharge end,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to Fig. l,

Fig. 5 is a view taken as indicated by the line ll-B of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 isa view taken as indicated by the line 6--6 oi Fig. 1,

Fig. -7 is a view taken as indicated by the line 'l-l of Fig. 4,

Fig. 8 is'a view taken as indicated by the line 0-8 of Fig. 7,

Fig. 91s an enlarged view' of a gripper cylinder and grippers, showing also some of the calipering mechanism,

Fig. 10 is a View similar to Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a view of the calipering mechanism taken as indicated by the line iI-il of Fig. 12,

Fig. 12 is a similar view taken as indicated by the line l2-i2 of Fig. 11,

Fig. 13 is a view of the calipering mechanism showing the operation thereof when a signature is missed,

` Fig. 14 is a similar view showing its operation l when two signatures are gripped instead of one.

Fig. 15 is a view showing a modified form oi' vacuum release.

Fig. 16 is a view showing a modied form oi' control mechanism for the grippers,

Fig. 17 is a top plan view ofy the gripper cylinder shown in Fig. 18,

Fig. 18 is a view taken as indicated by the line il of Fis. 17.

Fig. 19 is a view taken as indicated by the line ilofFi.18, l f

Fig. 20 is a view taken as indicated by the line 20 `of Fig. 19,

Fig. 2l is a view taken as indicated by the line 2| of Fig. 18, A

Fig. 22 is a diagrammatic view showing the wiring of a modified form of calipering mecha- Inism.

Fig. 23 is a view taken as indicated by the line 23 of Fig. 16,

Fig. 24 is a view taken as indicated by the line 24 of Fig. 17,

Fig. 25 is a view taken as indicated by the line 25 oi' Fig. 17, ng..

Fig. 26 is a view taken as indicated by the line 26 of Fig. 16,

Fig. 27 is a view taken as indicated by the line 21 of Fig. 26, and

Fig. 28 is a view taken as indicated by the line 28 of Fig. 26.

It may assist in the understanding of the invention to give aA general description of the machine and its operation before explaining the details. The machine comprises a suitable base with end castings, or frame members, and one or more intermediate castings or frame members supporting the various shafts and tie rods. The machine has considerably more length than as shown in- Fig. 1, because of the portion broken away. It may have, for example, as many as twenty or more stations. At each station in use, there is a pile or stack of signatures. Extending the full length of the machine below the stacks of signatures and back of them is a raceway or' trough. Operating below the trough` is a continuously moving conveyor chain with fingersor pushers extending up into it to engage signatures deposited in the trough and move them along toward the discharge end of the machine. At each station is a continuously rotating gripper cylinder adapted to deliver the signatures from the bottom of the stack to the trough. Sheet separating mechanism is employed to separate the sheets, one at a time from the bottom of the stack so that they may be engaged singly by the grippers on the gripper cylinder. The calipering mechanism is operated by the grippers to stop operation of the machine if a defective signature is gripped. By the term defective signature", I mean to include a signature too thick or too thin, or too many signatures, or none at all. 'Ihe mechanism is timed so that signatures at the first station are deposited one at a time in the trough. At the second station, a second signature is deposited on top of the first; and so at each subsequent station another signature is de# posited on top of the group moving along in the trough below.

As shown in the drawings, 20 indicates the base, 2| the casting or frame member at the front end, 22 a similar member at the discharge end, and 23 similar intermediate members. As here shown there are two stations between the two members 22 and 23 shown.

24 indicates the driving motor, 25 the main drive shaft, 26 the main cam shaft and 21 the gripper cylinder shaft, all being driven by suitable sprockets and chains as shown. (See Fig. 2.) The shaft 25 carries a sprocket 28 driving the chain 29 which drives the sprocket 30 on the shaft 3| which operates through bevel gears 32, 33 to drive the large sprocketl34 carrying the conveyor chain 35, which also passes over the idler sprocket 36.

31 indicates in general the trough into which the signatures are delivered to be engaged by the fingers or pushers 38 on the conveyor chain 35. This trough is readily formed by the slanting shelf 31a and the horizontal shelf 31h. Between these two shelves is a space in which the 'conveyor chain 35 lies. 31o indicates the front wall of the `trough against which the sheets are thrown gripper cylinders. The trough is also provided with an adjustable back wall 31d which is carried by the bars 38 which are adjusted backwardly or forwardly in the supports 39 depending upon the width of the signatures handled.

Signature separating mechanism Mechanism is provided at each station for separating the bottom signature 48a from the stack 40 so that it may be gripped by the gripper 4| on the gripper cylinder 42 (to be hereinafter described). This separating mechanism includes a pair of reciprocating suckers 43 adapted to engage the underside of the rear edge of the bottom signature projecting beyond the support 44 and pull it downwardly to snap under and be engaged by the gripper 4| on the rotating drum or cylinder 42. 'I'he gripper is caused to close immediately and the signature `is thus pulled from the bottom of the stack.

The suckers 43 are carried by the arms 45 mounted on the shaft 46 which is osciliated by the cam 41 on the shaft 26, operating through the cam wheel 48, lever 49, rock shaft 50, lever 5|, link 52, and lever 53 on the shaft 46.

To assist in separating the bottom signature from the rest, is provided a pair of lift hooks or fingers 60 at each station. These hooks are swingably mounted on the shafts 6| and are yieldingly urged forwardly by special springs 62. The shafts 6| arecarried on the ends of arms 63 mounted on the shaft 64. The arms 63 are rocked to raise and lower the hooks 60. This is accomplished by connecting to the shaft 64 the depending lever 65 connected through the link 66 to the lever 61 mounted on the rock shaft 68. The shaft 68 carries another lever 69 with a cam roller 10 operating on the cam 1| on the shaft 26. The hooks 60 are provided with rearwardly extending arms 12 adapted to engage the vertically adjustable stationary rollers 13 when the hooks are lowered. This causes them to be l jecting slightly under the rear edges of the stack of signatures.

The rear edge of the support 44 is provided with a sloping extension 44a provided with a recess to accommodate the suckers 43.

Air is exhausted from the suckers through the hose 80 leading to the vacuum valve 8|, details of which are not shown. This valve is operated by the arm 82 on the rock shaft 83 which is oscillated by the arm 84 carrying the cam roller 85 operating on the cam 86 on the shaft 26. Suction is turned on as the sucker engages the bottom signature and shut oif just before the gripper takes hold. 'Ihe hooks 60 are lowered and retracted just before the sucker takes hold of the signature.

80 indicates a nozzle adapted to supply a continuous jet of air against the rear edges of the signatures to assist in separating them. 9| is a pipe to supply compressed air to the nozzles 90.

Signature feeding mechanism As stated before there is a gripper cylinder 42 at each station to feed the signatures from the stack to the trough. At each side of the cylinder is a sheet supporting disk |00 to support the edges of the sheet. |0| indicates' adjustable curved susanne f guide bars adjacent these disks to assist in directing the signatures into the trough 01.

The grippers 4| on the cylinder 42 are operated by the cam rollers |I working on the stationary camgiii. The rollers |I0 are mounted on the arms l|2 attached' to the grlppers 4| which are yieldingly held closed by the springs H2.

The gripper'l 4| engages the edge o! the sheet as it is released by the sucker and the cylinder withdraws it from the bottom ofthe stack and discharges it into the trough, the gripper releas ing it at the proper time.

Calipering or stop mechanism This mechanism is well shown in Figs. 9 to 14.-

The gripper 4| is provided with a' lever |20. the

` end of which engages the short arm I2| of abellcrank having a long arm |22. The bell crankis pivoted at |23 and a relatively weak spring. |24 holds the arms and |2| together. The free end of the arm |22 carries a tripper |25.

|28 and |21 indicate bars slidably mounted and urged outwardlyby the springs |28 and |29 respectively. When either of these bars is released it is pulled out to engage theupper end of the rock lever pivoted at I3| end .cause the lower `end |30a to strike the rock lever |32 pivoted at |33 to rock said lever vto cause its lower end |82a to engage the switch arm |34 of the power shut voiI switch |35 and stop operation of the machine.

The bars |26 and "|21 are provided with notches |2Ba`and |21a normally engaged by the pivoted release triggers and I4| to hold said bars in. The inner ends of the triggers |40 and |4| are separated just far enough to let the tripper |25 pass between when said tripper is in its normal position. That is, when the gripper is in its normal closed position or has a perfect or normal signature as shown in Fig. 10. In this 'case the 3 tion line leads to the valve box. 28| connected to the main suction line 28|a connected to the exhausting mechanism (not shown). Inside of the valve box 28| is a piston valve 283 with a port or recess 284 adapted to establishv communication between the lines 280 and 28|awhen in its open positon. The valve 283 is yieldingly held closed by the spring 285. The end of the valve 283car ries a roller 288 engaged by the cam 281 on the gripper cylinder 242. This construction is designed to give a quickerAA and more accurately. timed release of the vacuum than can be accomplished by the use of the lever 84 operated by the tripper |25 will pass freely between the triggers |40 and |4| as shown in Fig. 11 without engaging either and therefore without releasing either bar |26 or |21. In the event the gripper is in an abnormal closed positionv (too far closed) that is,`

if no signature is engaged as shown in Fig. 13, or if the signature is too thin, the tripper |25 will be rocked vsufficiently to engage the trigger |40, rock it, and release the bar |26 to stop the machine. In the event the gripper is in an abnormal closed position (too far open) with two or more signatures engaged as shown in Fig. i4. or'ii the signature is too thick, tripper |25 will engage the trigger |4| to release the bar |21 and stop the machine.

The support 44 is providedwith a rear wall 44h with its lower edge 44e terminating a short distance above the gripper cylinder 42.

In Fig. 9, 40hV indicates a signature held by the gripper 4| on the cylinder and just about to be released and discharged into the trough.

I shall new describe the modifications shown in Figs. 15 to 28, inclusive. 'I'hese modifications include primarily another formof vacuum releasevalve, a diierent form oi spring for the gripper, Vand an electrical calipering .mechanism Attention in the description will be directed principally to the changes or modiilcations from the apparatus already described, it being understood that the other parts of the apparatus shown in these Figs. 15 to 25 inclusive are substantially the same in construction and operation .as those already described. y

In Fig. 15 the suckers 248 are shown resembling cam 88. The valve 283 is shown open in Fig. 15 to connect the suckers to the suction. l When it closes it vents the suckers to atmosphere through the vent 284a.

In Fig. 9, as described above, I have shown the grippers 4| operated by the tension springs |i3. It is to be understood, however, that these grippers may be operated by compression springs.

torsion springs or any other suitablel means. For example, in Figs. 16 and 24. I have shown the grippers 24| corresponding to the grippers 4i but operated by compression springs 2|8 instead of tension springs H8. 'I'he grippers 24| oscillate on the shafts 24|a and are provided with arms 24|b against'which the springs 213 operate. I'he shaft24|a is extended and provided with a crank 800 having a crank pin 80| carrying a cam rollerv 802 operating on the cam 803 carried by the member 804 adjustably mounted on the stationor too thin, however, the switch on the gripper.

cylinder is closed'to close a circuit to operate a solenoid to open the switch to shut o!! the power /to stop operation oi the machine. This switch also can beadjusted to give a iine or coarse adjustment.

I shall now describe more in detail the calipering or stopmechanism shown iniFigs. 17 to 28. 800 indicates a block'on the gripper cylinder carrying the electric switch controlled by the button 80| adapted to be engaged by the adjustable screw 802 mounted in the gripper 2M.

. 'I'he details of the switch are shown more clearly the suckers 43 heretofore described.l 280 indicates the suction line to these suckers. This sucin Figs. 18 to 215 In general it may be stated that the switch has a neutral position in which it is held when the gripper holds the correct number of sheets or sheets of the correct thickness. When in this neutral position the circuit is open. In the event that the gripper engages too many sheets or too few sheets, or sheets too thick or too thin, the switch is closed, closing the circuit to shut ofi the power and stop the machine. The button 80| is carried on. the end oi a spring pressed plunger 8|0 provided with recesses embracing the arms Sii on the rock shaft 0|2. The shaft SI2 carries the bifurcatecl switch arm 8|8 with the contacts 3M, till( The block 200 carries the two outer stationary contacts 8|5, 0|0, and the center stationary contact 

